In the past 2 decades, Africa has been on a Railway rush.
After 53 African Presidents under the African Union
signed a pact to promote Railway Development
and conceptualized the African Integrated High Speed Railway Network,
African countries
have been expanding their Rail Network now more than ever.
A fast growing Demographic and a Large Scale urbanization,
as well as the increase in Inter-regional and International trade, has further
increased the need for Railway development in Africa.
Rail transport is a preferred means of transport for Traders
and the Public in general, as it is Energy sufficient, Reliable and Cost effective
especially in the transport of bulky goods.
In comparison to other Means of Transport,
Railways are particularly more useful
in mass transit systems for both Intercity and Urban settings
since they can hold more people and goods compared to other transport means.
In this video,
we are going to look
at the 10 Largest Railway Projects Under Construction in Africa.
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10} Abidjan Metro Project.
Abidjan Metro,
also known as "Metro de Abidjan",
is a 37 Km long, Elevated Rapid Transit Network
being developed by French Companies in coordination
with the Ivory Coast Government
to address traffic congestion in the city of Abidjan.
Abidjan,
Ivory Coast's Financial Capital and One Of The Most Developed Cities In Africa,
Ivory Coast initially signed an agreement
with a French-South Korean Consortium for the construction of the Abidjan Metro
on a Build, Operate and Transfer basis.
The consortium included Bouygues, Keolis, Hyundai Rotem,
and Dongsan Engineering,
but South Korea withdrew from the Agreement
in October, 2017.
However, in November, 2017,
the Government of Ivory Coast
resumed plans for the development of the Metro,
and in December 2019,
an agreement was reached
which paved the way for the construction works of the Metro project to begin.
The Abidjan Metro, includes the construction of 24 Bridges,
8 Underpasses,
a Viaduct over the Ebrié lagoon, and 34 footbridges for pedestrians.
The Train will pass through Abobo, Adjame, Plateau,
Treichville, Marcory, before reaching Port Bouet.
Upon completion,
Abidjan will become the Third African City
with high capacity Urban Metro upon commissioning of the system.
The Abidjan Metro will be able to carry more
than 500,000 passengers a day.
The Project is expected to generate 2000 jobs
and comes at a cost of US$ 1.7 Billion.
9} Cairo Metro.
Egypt has begun efforts
to expand its Capital Metro System, so as to keep up with its fast growing population
and expand the city's Railway Infrastructure.
Egypt is developing 3 newly built Metro lines
in her Capital Cairo, using Local and International contractors.
In November 2020, a US$ 800 Million contract was awarded
to a Consortium of Orascom Construction of Egypt and Mitsubishi of Japan,
for the construction of the Underground Cairo Metro line 4
as part of Phase 1 of the Project.
The 19 Km (11 Miles) Metro Line 4
include 16 Train stations running from Central Cairo
to the Giza Pyramid Complex,
Southwest of the Greater Cairo.
On the other hand, Line 5 is 20 Km (11 Miles) long
running from Nasr City to Port Said Street,
while Line 6 is
19 Km (11 Miles) long and runs from Shoubra to Maadi.
8} Algeria High-Speed Railway.
In 2012, the Algeria Railway Administration began building
a double track 142 Km (88 Mile) Electric High Speed Railway,
with Speeds of up to 220 Km per hour running from Oran to Tlemcen.
As of fall of 2021, the Railway line is 80% complete,
and features 129 Viaducts with a total length
of 14 Km (8 Miles) .
and 3 Tunnels which are 1 Mile long combined
The Railway line will also have the Largest Viaduct in Africa
which is 130 Meters high and 1.8 Kilometers long.
7} Dakar Regional Express Train.
In December 2021,
the first Phase of the Dakar Regional Express Train began operation.
The First phase of the Project involved the construction
of a 36 Km (22 Miles) long line connecting
Dakar Central Business District to Diamnidio in just 35 minutes.
The US$ 2.4 Billion Project began in 2020
as part of the Economic Development Plan of Senegal,
aiming to connect the City's major suburbs through the New Modern train,
with plans underway to add a further 22 Km (13 Miles) long railway line
as part of Phase 2 of the Project,
stretching between Diamnidio and Blaise Diagne International Airport.
The Project is being constructed by French Companies Engie and Thales Group,
expected to serve more than 100,000 people every day.
6} Lagos Rail Mass Transit.
The Lagos State Government is constructing a Light Rail system
to reduce traffic congestion in "Africa's Biggest City".
The Lagos Rail Mass Transit System is a project being developed
by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA),
with proposed 7 Lines.
16 Km of the total 27.5 Km
of the Blue Railway line truck is now fully complete,
while the purchase agreement for trains set to be used on the Red line was signed
by the Lagos State Governor. Babajide Olu in January 2022.
The whole Project is expected to cost over US$ 2.4 Billion.
5} Morocco Railway Modernization Project.
The Government of Morocco had recently announced
US$ 850.5 Million Rail Investment Plan to modernize and develop
the country's Rail Infrastructure and the Existing Stations.
The Rail Investment Plan includes the development of the Infrastructure
of which a US$ 4.5 Billion contract has already been signed,
and is 1000 Km (621 Miles) long,
of which 460Km (285 Miles) of it is High speed.
4} Ghana Railway Redevelopment Project.
Trains could soon be running from landlocked Burkina Faso to the Atlantic ports of Ghana
following the construction of a US$ 750 Million Railway line.
Traditionally, Burkina Faso and its equally landlocked neighbors,
Mali and Niger, usually use road and rail links to the Port of Abidjan
in Ivory Coast for most of their external trade.
Ghana seeks to change that in Burkina Faso,
with the construction of the New Railway line.
The proposed 1252 Km (777 Miles) Railway line linking the 2 countries
starting in Ghana's Port of Tema to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.
The Railway line is expected to reduce
the pressure of rapidly growing Freight traffic off Ghana's roads.
The Total cost of the Project is US$5.9 Billion.
3} Nigeria Standard Gauge Railway.
The Nigeria SGR
is a Railway line connecting Nigeria's major cities.
The Railway line is being built as part of an initiative in Nigeria
aimed at replacing the existing Narrow Gauge Railway System with
the Wider Modern Standard Gauge Railway System, which is one of the First Standard Gauge
Railway Modernization Projects undertaken in West Africa.
Up until now, there are 2 SGR Railways routes in Nigeria,
which are Abuja to Kaduna, which was inaugurated
by the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016,
and the other being Lagos to Ibadan,
which began Semi-scale Operations in December 2020,
and on June 2021,
the SGR
began Commercial Operation.
The Nigeria SGR has Speeds of up
to 150 Km per hour,
and comes at a Cost of over US$8 Billion.
2} Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway.
Tanzania will soon become the third Country in East Africa
to start enjoying Modern Railway Services after Kenya and Ethiopia.
Kenya was the first country
in the region to start the construction of an SGR line,
completing close to 500 Km between Mombasa and Nairobi,
and also Inaugurating its passenger services
in June, 2017.
The Government of Tanzania is constructing a New Electric Railway Line
using domestic resources from Dar es Salaam, Morogoro to Dodoma,
which is about 700 Km (434 Miles).
The whole Project cover a distance
of about 2707 Km (1682 Miles).
The Tanzania SGR Railway is expected to improve
transportation of cargo and passengers in the Central Corridor.
It is expected to reduce Time and Freight for Cargo destined
to Neighboring countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda
and the Democratic Republic of Congo,
and it is being built in different phases.
It is Important to note that upon completion,
the Tanzania SGR Railway will be "The Longest SGR Railway In Africa".
1} Egypt High-Speed Railway Project.
Egypt is in the process of overhauling the country's railways,
including the Infrastructure, Rail lines and Building New stations.
According to Egypt's Minister of Transport, Mr. Kamal El-wazir,
Modernizing and Reforming Egypt's Railways is critical to meeting
Citizens' travel needs and boosting the Overall Economy.
In September of 2021, a German Company, Siemens Mobility,
together with Orascom Construction
and Arab Contractor of Egypt, signed an Agreement
with the Egyptian Government of approximately US$4.5 Billion,
which will foresee the delivery of a Comprehensive Rail system
that features a High speed Electrified Rail Freight line.
Egypt has already received
407 Passenger Coaches from the Russian Transmash Holding Company
as part of a deal to Manufacture and Supply 1300 Coaches
at a Cost of US$1.3 Billion, an Agreement which was signed in 2018.
Egypt High Speed Train, is set to run at a Speed
of up to 250 Km per hour.
That's all that we have for today.
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